Peter Laufer: Organic: a journalist’s quest to discover the truth behind food labeling

Abstract

After tasting rancid walnuts from a Trader Joe’s bag that was labeled as an ‘‘organic’’ product from Kazakhstan, this book’s author begins to question the organic label’s legitimacy. He doubts Kazakhstan’s ability to guarantee organic products due to the authoritarian regime and culture of bribery and corruption there. Similarly, the author begins to look into the origins of a Natural Directions can of black beans stamped with the words, ‘‘organic’’ and ‘‘product of Bolivia.’’ These globalized nuts and beans motivate the author to ask questions about their origins and whether the products are truly organic. En route to answering these questions, the author also delves into what the organic label means, and who certifies it as such. Organic: A journalist’s quest to discover the truth behind food labeling is a timely publication that deals with questions that consumers are increasingly asking. There is a growing awareness about the quality, value, and safety of the food supply, as may be witnessed in the debates over genetically modified organisms and accompanying labeling laws. ‘‘Annual organic food and drink sales just in the US grew from one billion dollars in the early 1990s to about twenty-seven billion dollars in the subsequent 20 years, according to the USDA’’ (Laufer, p. ix). As a concerned consumer himself, the author’s goal is to ‘‘reverse-engineer the history of the nuts and beans—and our overall organic menu’’ so as to ask and answer questions about the ‘‘green’’ industry (p. xii). The author attempts to trace the origins of Trader Joe’s walnuts from Kazakhstan and the black beans from Bolivia by contacting their respective suppliers. After a series of roadblocks due to proprietary business laws, he eventually travels abroad to ask questions about the broader scope of organics and their definition elsewhere. While in Europe, Africa, and South America, Laufer visits organic farms and asks farmers and lead certifiers whether they believe the organic label should be trusted. What it came down to in several interviews, no matter which country Laufer happened to be in, was trust. As one Austrian third-party organic certifier said, ‘‘Trust is only possible when things are open and accessible for everyone’’ (p. 106). Here though, Laufer continues to hit a roadblock regarding transparency in the globalization of the US system: it is not until the epilogue chapter that readers learn of the true origin of the Trader Joe’s walnuts (which were not sourced from Kazakhstan after all). The book’s outline is not as clear as I might have wished since the author frequently transitions from his quests abroad to the experiences of being shut out of the traceback process domestically. Several questions infiltrate the whole book though, which has the effect of binding several strains of thought together and making the work more cohesive. These threads of inquiry include: Can we trust the organic label, especially in light of the fact that third party certifiers are paid by those they certify? Who inspects the inspectors (p. 21)? What constitutes organic, here and in other parts of the world? What are the conditions like for workers who are producing these goods? Should working conditions be added to the criteria that define organic food (p. 69)? Why are suppliers not forthright about their sources (p. 87)? Written in a conversational and engaging tone, this book is easily understood and may appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as consumers with an eye towards conscientious eating. The book attempts to appeal to all consumers, since as the author says, ‘‘We all eat’’ (p. & Margaret Connelly mmc@iastate.edu